Is there anything spiritual about our nature or is it simply result of our past desires & karma according to which Krishna has given us our body & mind with their nature?

Podcast:

Question. Is there anything spiritual about our nature or is it simply a result of our past desires and karma which Krishna has given us, according to which Krishna has given us our body and mind with their nature? Answer, both perspectives have their validity. One is that, yes, things happen in the material world according to our particular karma, that things happen in the material world according to according to the interactions of matter and its laws. So, yes, the body that we’ve got is according to our past karma and all desires.

At the same time, this thirteen twenty one is soon followed by 1323, which says that matter is not just operating according to laws, those laws are under the Supreme Lord. And Krishna’s purpose when he is overseeing the material world is not just to give us what we desire and what we deserve. It is ultimately to prepare us for spiritual evolution for turning towards Him, a emotional redirection. And, Krishna is so expert that at whatever time we decide to turn towards Him, He has provided provided us. So Krishna is preparing us for turning toward him whenever we want, whenever we are ready for him.

That means, while our psychophysical nature is a product of our cast karma, it is also a product of Krishna’s plan, and that is Krishna’s magnificent intelligence that he can work both in parallel. That the Lord is able to this here that everything that has happened is within the plan of the lord. Prabhupada translates significantly as within the plan. So it’s not necessarily the plan of the lord, but it is within the plan. It means that the whole war happening was Duryodhana’s evil desires was the trust of attachment.

Those were the causes, but still through it all, Krishna was working his plan. And a sign of our Krishna consciousness is to be able to see Krishna’s plan even within the misdeeds and nefarious activities of demoniac people. Then what to speak of? The working of our own body and mind. And Duryodhan is grievously Duryodhan grieviously insults Vidura.

Vidura sees both therein the working of the material energy in the form of Durgaon as envy and arrogance. We also see is the form of working of the yoga Maya in the form of an opportunity for him to not have to fight the Kurukshetra war and to go on pilgrimage. So, similarly, within our particular psychophysical nature, we can see that there are certain things which are favorable and certain things which are unfavorable for us. So, we focus on those that are favourable and regulate those that are not favourable. Is our nature a result of who Krishna is, what Krishna has made for us?

Well, yes and no. It is Krishna operating through the principles of Karma to give us what is favorable for our growth. So even the aspects of our nature, our why focus on our internal nature, we can focus on external situation also. Even those aspects of our external situation and our external conditions and our internal conditionings, both that are unfavorable for our bhakti are also in one sense tests, which enable us, impel us, necessitate for us to turn toward Krishna because without him, it’s difficult to deal with them. So, yes, as seekers, individually, we should be justifying that this is my nature and this is alone what I can do, and I won’t do all those things.

But as teachers, as guides, as mentors, we also need to be careful that when we are guiding others, we cannot just dismiss other people’s nature as material. So, on one side there can be excessive justification by us, by a seeker, by a devotional aspirant saying that this is my nature and I can only do this, I cannot do anything beyond this. But on the other hand, there can be excessive justification of suppressing one’s nature to the particular leaders ideas of what is to be done, to the leaders ambitions. Whatever being your nature you just do this because that is what I need you to do. So that kind of overbearing extreme from the leader is just as much a danger as, self justifying status by the subordinate.

So we need a balance of both. A balance within between the both, between the two and we understand that nature itself can’t be changed, but nature can be and should be used in Krishna’s service. Now can everything in the nature be used in Krishna’s service? Certainly not. Can we just keep entirely our nature as it is and still serve Krishna?

Yes. Can we progress in bhakti by simply sticking to our nature? No. We certainly need to grow spiritually and that means that some some aspects of our nature we need to discipline. Some aspects we need to channel.

So that has to be the intelligence that a person has to use, both the subordinate and the guide. I mean, both have to work together cooperatively to engage what we have in Krishna’s service. So one perspective is to say that this is the best of a bad bargain. This is what is the nature that I have. Another way of looking at it is that that whatever comes from the supreme is perfect.

So the material world has come from the supreme. Even the material body that we have has come from the supreme. So this is what we need. This is what is suited for us for our spiritual growth. Thinking that our mental nature, our body, our nature is not there’s nothing spiritual in it.

It is simply a result of our past karma, maybe a vision that is devoid of Krishna consciousness because we are seeing karma simply as a mechanical function, not seeing that karma is working under the personal supervision of the super soul, ultimately the supreme lord. So, therefore, a more Krishna conscious vision is that at that wherever a person is, they are within Krishna’s circle of love. Even if they are it’s a very outer circle of love. They’re within Krishna’s circle of love and Krishna is drawing them towards them. Whatever be their condition, whatever be their conditionings, and Krishna is expert enough to make those condition and conditionings, favorable for their spiritual growth.

Thank you.